Deputy Manager

Please note that this role will primarily be based across our services in Suffolk and Essex. Training and team meetings are also held at our office in Great Bentley.

Our Mission is to make a positive difference to people and their families by delivering personalised health and social care that helps them to achieve the things they want out of life.

Our Values

• SAFE: We put the person at the centre of all our work and listen and act on what they tell us. We will respect and promote the human, legal, and civil rights of all the people we support, our organisation, and wider society.
• SOUND: We will provide high-quality, safe, evidence-based, and outcome-focused care and support. We will work appreciatively, which is hopeful and encouraging, using positive and strength-based approaches.
• SUPPORTIVE: We will empower the people we support in a progressive way that enables them to exercise choice and control. We will work with our partners to create pathways that enable people to grow and achieve their goals.

Job Purpose

Support the Registered Manager in leading the supported living service and ensure adherence to all regulatory and relevant legislative requirements. Provide effective leadership to the staff team, promoting the values, policies, and procedures of Harley House Supported Living. To ensure that the workforce has the skills, competencies, and knowledge to enable the people we support to lead as independent and fulfilling lives as possible. To uphold and promote the values of Harley House Supported Living.

This job description lists the main areas in which you will be expected to provide support. We may need to add more specific tasks to this based on the needs and wishes of the people. This supports their right to have control over their own lives.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Leadership

• Ensure that rotas reflect individual hours and recognise the skill mix of the workforce, ensuring safe, adequate staffing levels to support people to live the life they want.
• Ensure enhanced hours are evidenced and delivered.
• Ensure that there is evidence of effective handovers, planning of the day-to-day activities, and ensuring staff are following support plans and relevant policies and procedures.
• Ensure staff complete accident or incident forms following events.
• Ensure safeguarding and incidents have been raised or escalated to the Registered Manager.
• Monitor and oversee the interactions, performance, and conduct of staff on duty and respond to poor or inappropriate practices.
• Provide effective supervision to support staff.
• Ensure all staff are up to date with their mandatory training and address non-compliance with individual staff.
• Provide on-call phone advice, guidance, and support to the workforce in conjunction with the Registered Manager and part of the on-call rota.
• Ensure that medication is administered in a timely fashion and ensure any medication errors or discrepancies are reported to the Registered Manager.
• Develop an open, transparent culture that strives for continuous improvement, the well-being of the staff team, and a learning culture where the workforce feels valued.
• Ensure concerns and complaints are acted upon promptly.
• Ensure regular spot checks and competencies are undertaken to monitor care delivery, staff competency, and service user satisfaction.
• Be a positive role model for the team, ensuring you participate in the delivery of care and support.
• Ensure all information is kept up to date by GDPR legislation.
• Lead on initiatives to market the service and attract new referrals and enquiries.
• Develop key relationships with the Care Quality Commission, local authority, health professionals, and other key stakeholders.
• Create an open and transparent culture enabling staff to confidently raise concerns and ensure there is clear evidence of lessons learned when there have been incidents and near-miss events.
• Ensure that staff undertake monthly keyworker meetings.
• Ensure that staff members all understand their expectations as an employee of Harley House Supported Living and the Mission Statement and Values we promote.
• Build Harley House vision and arrange networking events and family and friends’ days to enable relationships to be established.
• Commit to the development, knowledge, and skills of the staff team, ensuring that mandatory training is up to date.
• Ensure you have, and promote knowledge and understanding of the Right care, Right culture, and Right Support CQC guidance.
• Ensure you have the knowledge of the REACH standards for supported living and that this is promoted within the staff team.
• Ensure that Positive Behaviour Support is embedded in the culture of the service through training, support plans, and the culture of the home.
• Act swiftly on performance and capability concerns, escalating these to the Registered Manager.
• Ensure staff have a good knowledge of consent and promoting independence and choice.
• Ensure all new staff have an induction and regular meetings in their probation.
• Ensure that you maintain knowledge and understanding of the Health and Social Care standards, CQC regulations, and key legislation.
• Ensure you undertake shifts, as required, in the absence of staff to ensure safe staffing levels.
• Carry out any additional tasks or duties according to your Deputy Manager's responsibilities and within your scope of competency.
• Support the Registered and Service Manager on referrals/transitions for new people supported.
• Shift cover in services in an emergency.

The people we support

• Ensure that there are effective support plans in place for all the people we support based on the needs, risks and wishes of the person and in co-production with them. Ensure these are updated at least monthly or as needs change.
• Ensure support plans identify goals and identified outcomes using the relevant Outcome Star.
• Ensure capacity assessments are in place for relevant service users.
• Ensure new care and support packages are communicated clearly to the staff team.
• Ensure robust partnership working with relevant health professionals and key stakeholders. Raise any concerns with any gaps in support with the Registered Manager.
• Promote independence, positive risk-taking and embracing Equality and Inclusion to enable the people we support to live their best possible lives.
• Develop strong relationships with service users and their families ensuring regular monitoring of care and support delivery.
• Ensure all service users have monthly key worker meetings and are offered an annual support review.
• Ensure all service users are encouraged to participate in an annual service user feedback survey.
• Enable opportunities to support service users to vote.
• Ensure that the Accessible Information standard is always followed, considering the needs of all the people we support.
• Ensure service users are supported to make their home personal to them.
• Provide direct care and support where necessary and ensure there is evidence of regular spot checks and competencies of care and support practices.
• Act up in the Service Manager's absence.

Quality and Governance

• Ensure all audits are undertaken as per the Quality Assurance framework and actions are added to the Continuous Improvement plan.
• Ensure that competencies are undertaken in key areas.
• Ensure the Registered Manager has all the necessary information related to accidents, incidents, and trends in your service.

Other duties

• Support the Registered Manager in marketing your service, developing key relationships with commissioners, and ensuring that vacancies are communicated and assessments are undertaken responsively.
• Act as an ambassador for the service, ensuring as the Deputy Manager you always maintain professionalism and integrity.
• As the Deputy Manager in the service, ensure you refrain from befriending staff or service users on social network sites.
• Always act in the best interest of any person who may lack capacity.
• Ensure that the safeguarding of the people we support is always a priority.
• Be aware of, and follow the procedure for, reporting any safeguarding concerns or incidents.
• Keep accurate records.
• Attend training and ensure all mandatory training is up to date.
• Co-operate and attend a yearly appraisal.
• Ensure the health, safety, and welfare of the people you support and the workforce.
• Embrace teamwork by ensuring effective and open communication for the benefit of the people we support.